Patrick Cecil McKenzie (born 8 December 1952) is a South African politician who represented the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) in the

Western Cape Provincial Parliament The Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) is the legislature of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located at 7 Wale Street in Cape Town. The Provincial Parliament, along with the other provincial legislatures of South Africa, e ...

until his retirement in November 2012, holding several positions in the Western Cape Executive Council during that time. Between 1994 and 1999, before he joined the ANC, he represented the National Party, including for a brief period as Minister of Welfare and Population Development in

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

Government of National Unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

in 1996. Before that, he represented the Labour Party in the

Tricameral Parliament The Tricameral Parliament, officially the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, was the legislature of South Africa between 1984 and 1994, established by the South African Constitution of 1983, which gave a limited political voice to t ...

from 1983 to 1994.

Early life and political career

McKenzie was born on 8 December 1952. He is

Coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

and when he was eight, his family was forcibly removed from

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

District Six District Six (Afrikaans ''Distrik Ses'') is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were History of South Africa in the Apartheid era#Forced removal, forcibly removed during the 1970s ...

under the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-era

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of u ...

. He flirted with the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

-aligned

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

but disapproved of the use of violence in the movement. He worked in management in the

Cape Town City Council The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...

from 1977 and in 1983 he was elected to the Coloured chamber of the newly established

, representing the Labour Party in the

Bonteheuwel Bonteheuwel is a former Coloured township in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the ...

constituency. He remained in his seat until the abolition of apartheid, and therefore of the Tricameral Parliament, in 1994.

Democratic government: 1994–2012

National Party: 1994–1999

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, McKenzie was elected to the

, where he ultimately served in a variety of portfolios in the Western Cape Executive Council. In the legislature, he represented the National Party (NP), which had governed South Africa under apartheid. Explaining his new party affiliation, McKenzie highlighted concerns about future economic misgovernance by the governing

(ANC):

We're s Colouredssort of caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. It's a bit confusing to be with the party of the old oppressors instead of the party of the liberators, but most of us are going to vote with our heads, not our hearts.

He left the provincial parliament for a brief period between March and June 1996, when he was sworn into the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

to serve as national Minister of Welfare and Population Development in

's multi-party

; he left the ministry on 30 June 1996, when the NP withdrew from the cabinet entirely, but remained in his legislative seat. By 1999 he had returned to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament.

African National Congress: 1999–2012

In January 1999, ahead of the 1999 general election, the ''

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cultu ...

'' reported that McKenzie was in talks about leaving the NP (by then restyled as the New National Party) for the ANC on the grounds that he had "reached a 'glass ceiling'" in his current party. He did indeed defect to the ANC and in the 1999 election, he was returned to the Western Cape Provincial Parliament on the ANC's party list. He was re-elected in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and took up his final posting in the Executive Council in July 2008, when Premier

Lynne Brown Lynne Brown (born 26 September 1961) is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premie ...

named him as

Member of the Executive Council In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,''Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "Pro ...

(MEC) for Community Safety. He left the Executive Council after the 2009 general election, when the ANC lost control of the provincial parliament. However, he remained in his seat as an ordinary

Member of the Provincial Legislature Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) is a title given to the members of eight of the nine provincial legislatures in South Africa. The Western Cape provincial constitution specifies that its provincial legislature be given the title of "P ...

and he was serving as the ANC's spokesperson on community safety when he announced his retirement, effective at the end of November 2012.

Personal life

He is married to Carol McKenzie, who represented the ANC in local politics and with whom he has several children. His son Angus is also a local politician in Cape Town and is a member of the Democratic Alliance.

References

African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African politicians Living people National Party (South Africa) politicians Labour Party (South Africa, 1969) politicians Members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Patrick 1952 births